World Famous Comics: Y: The Last Man Vol. 7: Paper Dolls
Y: The Last Man Vol. 7: Paper Dolls
By: Brian K. Vaughan Publisher: Vertigo Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Vertigo Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 144 Publication Date: May 01, 2006 Release Date: May 01, 2006
Product Description: The saga of Yorick Brown, the last man on Earth, continues in PAPER DOLLS, writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra's award-winning VERTIGO series. In addition to catching up on the adventures of Yorick's monkey Ampersand (whose body holds the key to stopping the male-killing plague) and telling the origin of Agent 355, PAPER DOLLS chronicles Yorick and 355's search for Yorick's fiancee Beth in Australia -- a search that yields a large dose ofunwanted publicity for the Last Man, and deadly consequences for those he cares for!
Issues #37-#43 of the Vaughan/Guerra series This trade paperback collects issues #37-42 of the excellent DC Comics series. Series co-creator Pia Guerra pencils the three-issue "Paper Dolls" story arc. Yorick and Agent 355 spend a day in decaying Sydney, Australia, searching for Beth but instead running afoul of a zealous tabloid reporter. Meanwhile, Dr. Mann bonds with an Australian who may or may not still be a spy and the Israeli soldiers reappear with Yorick's mother in Washington, DC. Goran Sudzuka pencils the remaining three issues. The subpar #40 centers on Hero and Yorick's other Beth while the excellent #41 is chiefly backstory on Agent 355. #42 focuses on Yorick's monkey Ampersand who may have the cure for the plague. I enjoyed this book, though not as much as some of the earlier ones: I'm looking forward to Book 8.
Great Balance Between New Plot Developments and Back Story Reading "Y: The Last Man" makes me feel like I'm going to the movies. It's clear how much thought is put into the writing (especially the dialogue and the back story, which is phenomenally laid out in one-shot flashback issues) as well as the art; it makes "Y" one of the most consistently fantastic comic series that I've read.
Moreso than any other volume of the series, this book--"Paper Dolls"--continues directly from the previous volume. The ship Yorick was on docks, and he and 355 set out into Australia to find Yorick's long lost fiance Beth... and they only have one day to do so. Any fan of Brian K. Vaughan knows that things, of course, do not go smoothly for Yorick. That's the main story line of this book (making up the "Paper Dolls" arc, which is three issues) and it's very good, but the three one-shot issues that follow are even better.
First, we get a "meanwhile..." issue that shows us what Hero and Beth 2, respectively, have been doing. It adds to the main plot and also gives both of the characters major development. And speaking of character development, the next one-shot is made up of flashbacks of the series' most mysterious character--Agent 355. It's gratifying as a reader to finally get tidbits of this character's past, which gives us insight onto why she behaves the way she does. As Yorick gets to know her better, so do we, and that's not only exclusive to this issue. Hints are dropped to us about her past in nearly every issue she appears in in this book. Finally, the book concludes with another flashback episode, dealing with... Ampersand, Yorick's stolen pet monkey. We finally learn the significance of Toyota's mission to steal Ampersand in the fifth book, among other things.
Brian K. Vaughan has found the perfect balance in giving us new plot developments and dishing out revealing back story. As this series gets closer to its grand finale, each issue ups the ante.
8/10
Great addition to the series Paper Dolls had so many twists to it that I almost couldn't keep up. This series just gets you hooked and never fails to entertain. If you're looking for an example of why Y The Last Man is so highly regarded, check out volume 4 and this volume.
Graphic SF Reader Yorick has finally arrived and is a position to look for Beth. However, he runs into a big problem when a journalist from a less than broadsheet quality newspaper finds out he is still alive, and is a story she definitely does not want to lose. He does eventually find Beth, and he certainly gets a hell of a surprise when he sees her.
A three-hour tour, with a stop in the outback. Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man: Paper Dolls (Vertigo, 2006)
(Note: this review contains major spoilers for earlier books in the series. If you're not up to date with the series, and you plan to read it, don't read this review until after you've read book six.)
Vaughn's Y: The Last Man just keeps getting better as it goes on. Yorick and co. are on their way to Japan to search for the kidnapped Ampersand. This book focuses on a part of the trip where the crew stop in Australia to look for Yorick's missing girlfriend Beth. As always, Paper Dolls features almost nonstop action, but the action never gets in the way of character development. If the series stays this good, Vaughan will have created one for the ages. ****
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